


Of Dean Thomas, and other boyfriends

by cosmicrhetoric



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Character Study, F/M, aka each boy is what ginny needs rn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-05
Updated: 2015-07-05
Packaged: 2018-04-04 10:55:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4134849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmicrhetoric/pseuds/cosmicrhetoric
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In first year, Ginny thought she was in love with Harry Potter. She was wrong. </p><p>(but she would be)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Dean Thomas, and other boyfriends

**Author's Note:**

> Wow this took a lot of research, I cannot tell you how long I spent on the Quidditch page on hp wikia. This is entirely canon compliant except for the train scene, which I placed after The Quidditch Match From Hell. Enjoy!

The first time she set her eyes on Harry Potter, he was small. Unassuming. He was just a child, but so was she, and she felt like there was stardust and sparks whirling inside of him, just ready to beautify and make lovely.

Bill always told her she was a romantic. She had denied this, of course, stamping her foot. Tiny Ginny Weasely was no romantic, Ginny Weasley was just as tough, just as strong as any boy. While she was correct, she had no other way to explain the sparks as soon as her brothers hissed Harry Potter's name. It wasn't real, not yet, but it was  _something_.

* * *

**Third Year**

Hermione found her in her dormitory, sitting at a dresser, casually playing with a roommate's cosmetics. 

"Ginny?"

Her voice was always so biting, so sharp, that hearing it softening around her practically infuriated Ginny. She didn't have to walk on eggshells around her, for Merlin's sake. Ginny was thirteen, now. She was hardly a child, hardly someone who needed looking after. 

But still, because it was Hermione, Ginny turned and offered a small smile. "Hey, Hermione."

The older girl sat on Ginny's bed, her every move still cautious. "Are you alright?"

"Just fine." said Ginny, not too gently. "Did you need something?"

This time, Hermione did smile. "I wanted to thank you." Her smile was always lovely, Ginny thought. Even without the new teeth, Hermione's smiles always seemed so genuine. "For not giving me up earlier, to Ron and Harry."

Ginny started. "Oh, no, that was no big deal, Hermione."

"No, it was. Harry would've taken it with grace, but Ron was just saying all those things, that I couldn't get a date to the Yule Ball, that I'm just a last resort-"

"You're not." said Ginny hotly. Maybe she was still a kid in matters like these, but of Hermione she could be sure. "Krum was so nervous about asking you he waited  _weeks_. You're hardly one of those girls that follow him around, giggling and all that. My brother's an idiot."

Yeah, she saw the way they looked at each other. Hermione's eyes sparkled, before sobering. "I am sorry about what he said to you, though." she said, sincerity flooding her voice. "About going to the ball with Harry-?"

So  _that_ was why she was here. Ginny stiffened, and tried to keep from going red. "I'm going with Neville." 

"I know, Ginny, but I mean..." she trailed off, and Ginny did  _not_ like that knowing look in her eyes. 

Eventually, she pushed the hostility down. Hermione was just trying to help. "Can we not talk about this?"

Her friend softened. "Oh, Ginny."

"I mean, apparently it's not a secret, how much I like him." and her voice was coming out hard and angry and fast. "And  _yeah,_ I get that Cho Chang is beautiful and athletic and amazing at Charms-but she supports the sodding Tornados! I mean if that doesn't show a lack of judgement I don't know what does. And she's all over Diggory and if Harry doesn't see that-"

"Ginny." Hermione's voice was firm now. "However you feel right now, Harry feels the same way."

And that was true, Ginny supposed. As hard it was maintaining animosity towards Cho Chang, it was probably harder to feel that towards Cedric Diggory. Harry got the short end of the stick. 

She didn't want him feeling like this, with all of that rage towards a person. 

"Fine." said Ginny, before deflating. "I'm sorry, I just-"

"It's okay." said Hermione. "We all...get like this, I suppose. Listen, I just-can I give you some advice?"

"Does it include the words 'move' and 'on'?" asked Ginny gloomily. 

Hermione cracked a smile at that. "Not quite, Ginny. I just mean that maybe you should explore other options. Michael Corner asked you to Hogsmeade, right?"

"Yeah, he did. I said maybe." Ginny rested her cheek on the cool vanity, facing Hermione. "You think I should say yes?"

"Well, he's not bad looking, is Corner?"

Ginny smiled. 'No, he's not."

"You don't have to give up on Harry, Gin." Hermione's voice went weird and soft again. "But he's not the only bloke at Hogwarts, is he?"

"No." said Ginny slowly. "No, I don't suppose he is."

* * *

**Fourth Year**

It was crowded in Hogsmeade, it always was, but Ginny felt even more conscious of the populace today. That fact that Michael was holding her hand so tightly (did his hand never get sweaty? How was he doing this?) made her feel like she was hyper visible. 

He grabbed a corner booth for them as she wrestled forward to order butterbeers. 

_"Are you sure? The line is pretty long-"_

_"Six brothers, remember? I got this, I'm pretty good at pushing through lines."_

She brushed past Ron and practically glowed at the glower he sent her and Michael. Harry and Hermione were at that table too, mostly snickering at Ron's murderous expression. Hermione caught her eye, though. Ginny winked. 

It was all thanks to Hermione, she thought. Judging from the way Corner had introduced himself to her last year( _"You know, I'd t_ _ake you to the Ball if I wasn't doing a favor for my cousin")_ and the immediate Hogsmeade proposal that followed, Ginny wouldn't have said yes at all. She didn't in fact, until Neville had tripped over her several times at the ball and Michael, who had gone with his tall seventh year cousin, spoke to her again. Something about him, about the arrogance and the swift tilt of his head spoke to her. She felt challenged when conversing, and felt the need to prove herself blossom once again. He wrote to her all summer, and Ginny delighted in perhaps waiting an extra week before sending her response, still always looking forward to the biting comeback synonymous with their written banter.

She had never played hard to get before. Then again, she never had someone willing to pursue her as Michael did. 

He seemed to feel the same. Michael never looked more animated as when he was with her. Ginny said this aloud once, loftily attributing it to his House. Michael responded with a torrent of impressive stigmas against Gryffindor, and as Ginny's rage grew, she felt her hear going light. 

Was this what fancying a boy was like?, she had asked Hermione in a secluded room in 12 Grimmauld Place. Hermione's answering smile seemed a little sad.

"It's different for everyone." she had said. "If it's what you need, if you need to be challenged like you say he does for you, then yes, I suppose it is."

Ginny grabbed her butterbeers, cold for her, hot for Michael, and swung around. Ron made a strangled sound and she passed, and Ginny couldn't hold back a laugh. She glanced at their table, waving at her brother. 

Harry shot her a small smile before turning back to Ron, and Ginny's mood soured. Yes, she thought. Michael Corner was exactly what she needed right now. 

* * *

 It raining bullets, but Ginny stood in the middle of a cheering crowd, arm outstretched, feeling hotter than ever.

" _Yes!_ " she screamed, the Snitch still in her grasp. 

She saw Cho Chang chuck her broomstick away, crying, and felt a moment of pity before Angelina literally picked her up and hoisted her above her head. Katie was somewhere below them, screaming a primal cry of joy, as she jumped at Ron and put him in a headlock. 

The crowd of red that came surging towards the Gryffindor Quidditch team were screaming too, but there was a fifth year-oh, Seamus-with a very familiar expression on his face. Ginny grinned in anticipation for the words she knew were coming.

"Party in the common room!" roared Seamus, to many cheers. There was a mad rush suddenly, to get off the pitch. Ginny allowed herself to be carried towards the locker rooms, before hopping off Angelina's shoulders and releasing the Snitch towards the empty skies.

"Merlin, I need a shower." said Alicia, rubbing her shoulder. Still, she was beaming. 

"Same." said replacement Beater Jack Sloper. Kirke, his partner, was skipping. 

Ginny couldn't say a word, she was too happy. She glanced at Ron, who seemed to be glowing, and punched him in the shoulder. "Good game, yeah?"

He grinned back. "Yeah."

And so they showered, Ginny letting hot water batter each abused muscle until near relaxation. Once clear, hair dried, Ginny set out towards the castle with Sloper and Alicia. When she turned away from Gryffindor Tower, however, Alicia expressed her confusion. 

"Not going to the party?"

"I've got to find Michael." Ginny explained with a smile. "He said he'd find me, but you know-"

"Men." said Alicia Spinnet derisively. Sloper looked injured, but still hopeful. Ginny smirked as she turned away, not wanting to break Alicia and Katie's legendary four year courtship to him, seeing as he thought he had a chance. 

Michael, however, was pretty hard to locate. Ginny ended up tramping up to Ravenclaw Tower, wondering if she should give the door a try. Before she could make a decision, it opened, expelling Terry Boot.

He did a double take at the sight of her. "Oi, Weasely, what are you doing here?"

"Looking for Michael." said Ginny. "You seen him?"

 Boot winced. "Uh, yeah, he's inside."

"Weird, he said he was going to find me after the game." said Ginny. "Can I come in?"

"You're probably not welcome in Ravenclaw tonight, Ginny." said Terry Boot apologetically. "I'll call him out, yeah."

Ginny nodded once, a short, clipped motion. She was starting to get a bit annoyed. 

It took a while for Michael to emerge, and when he did he wasn't smiling. Neither was she. 

"Where have you been?" asked Ginny dryly. "I thought you were going to meet up with me."

"Yeah, well, some of us  _losing_ teams have to salvage our pride." he said, flicking his hair out of his eyes.

Ginny raised an eyebrow. There was danger in the air. "Come off it, Michael, you're not even on the Quidditch team."

"I'm still in Ravenclaw." he said angrily. "You made Chang cry today."

"Weather fluctuations make Chang cry." said Ginny.

Michael recoiled. "After everything she's been through-"

"I should what,  _lose_ on purpose because Cho Chang's been  _having a bit of a rough patch_?"

He threw his hands up in the air."Yes, Merlin forbid you _lose_ , Ginny!"

It was her turn to recoil. "You shut the hell up." said Ginny, dead serious. How dare he-that was the one thing they shared, the competitive nature, the constant-

"Just cause you're so fucking insecure doesn't mean you have to come up here and rub it in everyone's faces."

She punched him in the face. 

Michael swore, loud, and stumbled backwards. "You pyscho!"

"We're done, if that wasn't obvious." said Ginny coolly. She shook her fist. All she wanted was to have her boyfriend congratulate her. She didn't want to talk about the match. She just wanted to talk to him. "Don't fucking talk to me, Corner."

* * *

"Are you alright?"

Ginny raised her head up from where it lay flat on her Transfiguration notes. The answer was no, the answer was her exam being tomorrow, the answer-

She blinked. "Oh." said Ginny. "Hi, Dean."

* * *

  **Fifth Year**

Harry was late, and Ginny was  _pissed._

The entire bloody team was ready and robed, broomsticks in hand, waiting a pep talk that wasn't going to come. But to be honest, Ginny would get mad at Harry later. What she was pissed at right now, however, was-

"Now, Coote,  _make sure_ to swing your bat at no more than a ninety degree angle! It improves accuracy and power." said Cormac McLaggen, professional annoyance. 

 _No it doesn't,_ Ginny thought dully. _It will smack you in the head with your own bat, though._

Dean exchanged a glance with her, miming gagging. Ginny was too tense to smile, but she squeezed his hand through the thick Chaser gloves they were both wearing.

"I mean honestly, _if_ Potter were here he'd tell you all of this."

She tensed immediately. 

"...though looking at his track record I doubt he'll show up..."

"Shut up, McLaggen." said Dean sharply. 

"...I suppose I'll have to play Seeker as well then, no problem for me, of course..."

"To be completely honest, McLaggen." said Ginny, her voice clear, strong, and practically bristling with anger. "If something happens to  _you_ ," her voice became sweet. "I can't imagine filling in as Keeper. I mean all you do is sit in front of the hoops! You don't even have to move, you have just the right  _stature_ for Quidditch-"

"Okay." said Dean, while Demezela tried to contain her snickers. "Okay let's go over the plays?"

McLaggen nodded, his face a bit red. "Hufflepuff-"

"Hufflepuff," interrupted Ginny loudly. "has a very strong offensive. This sucks for us, considering that we're also pretty concentrated in our offense. Potter's plays involve us Chasers concentrating on our de, leaving him to win via the Snitch. Super narcissistic of him, but given his abilities it's not a far stretch."

And just as the team actually began to pay attention, the crowd roared behind Ginny. Her heart sank. Where was Harry?

"Anyway," she tried to continue, just as their wayward captain slid into the changing room. The entire tea seemed to exhale with relief, Ginny included. Harry furiously began shoving on his Quidditch gear.

"Where have you been?" 

He beckoned her closer, and as she approached Ginny was startled by the unfocused look in his eyes. "I met Malfoy."

"So?" demanded Ginny. Harry and Malfoy, she couldn't  _believe_ this.

"So I wanted to know how come he's up at the castle with a couple of girlfriends while everyone else is down here-"

"Does it matter right now?" interrupted Ginny angrily. 

"Well, I'm not likely to find out, am I?" he said briskly as he grabbed his broom and stomped out to the field, the rest of the team trailing behind him.

Ginny held in a breath. Annoyed as she was, he was a bit compelling _(hot)_   when he got like this. As if to counter the brief rebellious thought, Dean clapped her on the shoulder. 

"Good luck, yeah?"

"Yeah." said Ginny, suddenly feeling stifled. As the announcer-Merlin, was that Luna?-called her name, she took off hard, flying fast and hard.

* * *

 

"What the  _hell_ , Dean?" she pushed him in the shoulder. 

He took a step back. "What?"

"You think I didn't see you fucking laughing when our captain was  _bleeding out on the ground_?"

Dean sobered. "I didn't mean it like that, Gin, you know I didn't."

"Well it sure as hell looked like you did!"

"Harry and I have been mates for years..."

"What kind of mate would find this situation funny?"

She was angry, she was furious, and all over a boy she  _swore_ she was done two years ago. Fuck everything, Ginny thought. Dean, Harry, fucking McLaggen-just, just everything.

Ginny stomped away, angry to the point of  _tears_. What was wrong with her? She never cried, not after arguments. Not after anything, in fact. There was a quiet corner around the library that Ginny collapsed in, hiding her face and desperately trying to avoid the Hospital Wing.

She knew what she wold find, a passed out Harry Potter, thickly bandaged, and her brother. Quite honestly, Ginny didn't think she could stand seeing Harry like that. Or seeing him at all. 

Something was going on with her. Her relationship with Dean seemed to be fracturing at the seams, everything he did set her off. And Harry, Harry was always nice to her, but now he was her friend. He confided in her, he looked out for her and let her do the same for him, and  _fuck_ -

Ginny ran a hand through her hair. This wasn't what it was like before. Before, Ginny would just turn red and dote on the boy, but now...it felt so different, it felt a million times magnified, and Ginny just couldn't hold it back as well anymore.

She had fancied Harry to the point of obsession, but now it had somehow downgraded and bloomed at the same time.

She fancied him. Present. Tense.

 

* * *

"Fancy finding a compartment?"

Her heart was in her fucking _throat_ , and all he was doing was looking down at her and smiling. The kind of power he had over her, she thought, that was in the little things. The tiny, yet quintessential Harry Potter things-his glasses, always askew. The way he could never sit still, always drumming a hand over whatever he was holding. The childish way his eyes lit up at the mere thought of social interaction. 

He had her. Harry Potter had her like a bloody fucking vice. 

And he wanted to spend time with her now, with his best mate's sister, and it would be so easy to say yes, to devote her full attention to him once more, because she  _loved_ him, she did, really-

And then Ginny remembered Dean. Because Harry had her like a vice, yeah, but Ginny was no longer the kind of girl who would devote herself to a bloke, nor was she the kind of girl who let  _anyone_ consume her. 

(she would say this was a by product of growing up, but Ginny still saw Tom Riddle in the corner of her eye, in mirrors-)

And Dean was sweet, and kind, and most importantly a mate. Harry hadn't really been her friend until last year, but Dean took her out to the Quidditch pitch in her third year and showed her how to fly really well, anytime she asked. Dean Thomas who pushed her into Angelina's path last year, 'accidentally', so Ginny could stammer out a hasty appeal towards the newly open Seeker position on the team. Dean, who supported the Harpies, just like she did. Dean, who never took her confidence for granted, for always giving her that extra push.

She would not jeopardize Dean Thomas for this boy. Even if Dean had been so sweet lately, trying to make up for the fact that they both knew they weren't going to last.

So Ginny smiled. "Sorry, Harry. I said I'd meet Dean." and she turned, and her hair spun and whirled, and Ginny felt as though a door had closed behind her as she went.

* * *

She only had a single sip of firewhiskey that night, but it still felt like she was blazing. Ginny had never liked playing Seeker, but snatching the Snitch right out from the Slytherin Seeker's nose was so satisfying. The whole room seemed brighter, lights bright and colors blending together. She was absolutely drunk on victory.

There was her team, around her laughing and drinking. Hermione had hugged her tightly before retreating behind her wall of books. Ron and Lavender were thankfully, not too disgusting tonight.

There was only one person missing.

And then, as if she had willed it, there he was. Ron surged up, yelling. "We won! We won! Four hundred and fifty to a hundred and forty! We won!"

Harry's face, delight and surprise and hard, fierce pride-Ginny dropped her drink. She was moving, and then running and she threw her arms around him. Her feet actually left the ground as he gripped her tightly. She was grinning into his shoulder now, and as he put her back down, she looked up at him like he was everything. Ginny was at a loss for words, she wanted to say something vaguely witty, some boasting phrase about how well she had played, but he was looking at her like-like-

And then he kissed her.

And as they kissed, as she stretched her arms up and around his neck once more, there was no thought of Michael Corner, no thought of Dean, no comparison at all-just the simple feeling that this was exactly what being sixteen and in love was supposed to be. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm cosmicrhetoric on tumblr, come say hello!


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